Thread control for weft replenishing looms



May 1, 1951 w. H. WAKEFIELD THREAD CONTROLFOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 1, 1947 FIG'.6

INVENTOR WALTER. H. WAKEFIELD wing Ma v ATTORNEY FiGQB y 1951 w. H.WAKEFIELD 2,551,189

THREAD CONTROL FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Filed Feb. 1, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 2 l2 ll 5: 62

QINVENTOR WALTER H. WAKEFIELD ATTORNEY Patented May 1, 1951 THREADCONTROL FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Walter. H. Wakefield, Worcester,Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, acorporation of Massachusetts Application February 1, 1947, Serial No.725,883

-8 Claims. (01. 139-256) This invention relates to weft replenishinglooms and it is the general object of the invention to separate twothreads which lead to different removing devices but are matted togethersubsequent to cutting at the cloth selvage.

In weft replenishing looms two threads ordinarily remain attached to theselvage incident to each weft replenishing operation. In order to takethese threads from the loom it has been proposed heretofore that they beacted upon by removing means, one for one thread and another for theother thread. When the threads are smooth they do not stick to eachother when out at the selvage and each can be drawn into its removerwithout interference by the other. When the threads are coarse andrough, however, there is likelihood that they will be matted togethersubsequent to selvage cutting, in which event it is found that boththreads are drawn toward one of the removers. When this happens there islikelihood that one of the threads will extend into both removers andneither of the latter will be able to remove it.

One of the removing means already referred to may be a pneumatic tubespaced a short distance from the cloth and into which extends the threadcorresponding to the outgoing bobbin. The other removing means may be apneumatic thread holder much farther from the cloth and into whichextends the'thread of the incoming bobbin. This latter thread is likelyto be drawn into the remover when previously known thread controls areemployed.

It is an important object of the present invention to control the secondthread in such manner that it cannot enter the remover of the otherthread. The two threads are not ordinarily stuck together Very firmlyand can be separated by the joint action of the removers and a guide orthe like for the second thread. This guide is preferably though notnecessarily nearer to the point of selvage cutting than to the re--mover for the first thread.

As set forth hereinafter two different means may be employed for actingon the second thread, or the one leading to the thread holder. One ofthese means includes a stationary hook,

and the other has a thread placer on the lay. -When the stationary hookis used the thread corresponding to the incoming bobbin is cast over itand remains hooked thereon until selvage cutting. When the placer on thelay is used it engages the second thread at a point which will be nearerthe selvage cutter than to the remover. In either form of the inventionthe aforesaid distance relationship will prevent the matted parts of thethread from reaching the remover.

With these and other objects in View which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth. r

In the accompanying drawings, wherein two forms of my invention are setforth,

Fig. 1 is a plan view partly in section showing the preferred form ofthe invention with threads leading respectively to a pneumatic threadremover and a pneumatic thread holder prior to selvage cutting, V I rFig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section looking in the direction ofarrow 2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of'part of the structure shown in the lowerpart of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a front elevation looking in the direction of arrow 4, Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a plan view looking in the direction of arrow 5, Fig. 3, partsbeing broken away,

Figs. 6, 'l and 8 are diagrammatic views showing operation of thepreferred form of the invention,

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showin the modified form of theinvention, 1

Fig. 10 is an enlarged side elevation looking-in the direction of arrowllLFig. 9, and I Figs. 11-14 are diagrammatic views showing theoperation of the modified form of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a .loom frame lflhavin abreast beam ll over which extends the cloth 0., A temple l2 on the'breast beam is provided with a temple cutter l3 for. cutting threadsclose to the cloth selvage. The lay L is provided with a shuttle box ISthe front wall l6 of which is slotted as at I! to receive a threadcutter l8- for cooperation with the shuttle S when the latter is in boxI5 on weft replenishing beats of the loom. I y

The reserve bobbin magazine M may be of the rocking type and is mountedon a pivot pin 20 carried by a stationary support 2|. The magazineincludes in its construction a transferrer arm 22 pivoted on stud 23 andnormally in the raised position shown in Fig.2.

A pneumatic thread remover R comprisesta tube 25 having an intakemouthlB at the lower end thereof. A thread deflecting plate 21 on theremover ,is attached to a forwardly extending rod 28 slidably mounted ina carrier 29- mounted for pivotal movement about stud axis 23. Rod 28 3is normally held yieldingly in rear position by a spring 30.

A stud 32 on the transferrer arm overhangs a finger 33 on the carrier29, and a friction spring 34 holds the carrier 29 in any position towhich it is moved. A resetting rod 35 has a vertically reciprocatingmovement and rises ordinarily dur ing backward movement of the lay toeffect lift-'- lng of the remover R should the latter be down.

The upper part of tube 25 is connected to a" hose or air conduit 3!connecting with a source of subatmospheric pressures not shown. sourceis also connected to a thread holder designated at H having anintake'inoutli 38 for weft ends not shown extending toward the holderfrom the magazine. A thread collector 39 connects pneumatically withintake mouth 38v and has a mass of yarn Y therein.

In the operation of the matter thus far described a depleted shuttleentering shuttle box l5 will be replenished by a full bobbin drawn inknown manner from the magazine. During the replenishing operation theempty bobbin is expelled out of the shuttle and leaves a thread T whichis severed by the cutter I8. This thread extends between the shuttle andthe wall I6 and leads to the selvage of cloth C. At the same timedescent of the transferrer arm 22 causes stud 32 to rock carrier 29 in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 around stud 23 to lower 1the remover B. so that its intake mouth 26 will be behind thread I. Asthe lay moves rearwardly the shuttle will be picked out of the box 15.behind tube 25 and part of thread T- will move. into the mouth 26 due topneumatic. attraction and the remainder thereof will extend from theremover R to the cloth selvage. The freshly replenished shuttle willleave a thread T extendingIfrom the holder H to the cloth.

As weaving continues the two threads T and T will move forwardly andcome. within the range of operation of the. temple cutter l3. If thethreads are hairy. and; coarse they are likely to be. matted to ethersubs que t. o h Sewa cutting operation, in which event thread T is ow rhe r mpver R. a d. e y to enter the latter due to the fact that theremover exerts more pneumatic tractive force on the thread 'r' than doesthe holder Ir thread '1" should enter the, rerndver both the pneumaticdevices R," and H reit'r rtes oh opposite ends of the threadT" and thelatter cannot be removed from the loom. c 'The 'matter'fthus fardescribed is of known construction and the pneumatic parts may be assetfdrth for instance momma States Patents Nos. 2,199,296; 2,199,353 and2,199,354. y

In carrying the preferred form of the invention into effect I provide astationary hook 40 supported by the breast beam H, see Fig. 3, anda'thr'ead placer or pusher 41 on the lay. The hook has a notch 42 whichfaces forwardly and is so located that the distance from it to thetemple cutter measured along the length of that part of thread T betweenthe hook and the temple cutter is less than the distance between thehook40 and the intake mouth 26 of remover R. As the lay moves forwardly on apick subsequent to replenishment the thread T is engaged by. the placingmeans or pusher. 4| and moved up over the hook "and into the notch 42.The pusher 4| also has a notch 45 and. moves inn path below notch 42 sothat on subsequent forwa d ea s f the lay the. pushe w o e age thethread T.

The operation of the preferred form of the invention is showndiagrammatically in Figs. 6-8. As shown in Fig. 6 the threads T and Tare still attached to the cloth C but have reached the temple cutter l3.Thread T extends into the remover R and thread T extends into the holderH and is also located in the notch 42 of hook 40 which serves as aretaining or engaging means for thread T. In Fig. '7 the threads T and Tare shown as having just been cut from the cloth by the selvage cutterwith their cut ends loosely matted together as indicated at 50.Severance of the two threads from the cloth enables the pneum'aticdevices R and H to attract their respective threads, but since thread Tis much longer than thread T and also because the holder I-I receives anumber of threads in addition to thread T, remover R attracts its threadT more readily than holder H attracts its thread T. As a result, theleft end of thread T moves toward the remover R, but since the length ofthread T from hook 40 to the selvage cutter is less than the distancefrom hook 40 to the remover R, the matted parts 'of the two threads willnot be able to reach the remover. Lip 46 above notch 42 is bent towardthe cloth to prevent the thread T from slipping off hook 40 as it movestoward remover R.

As already indicated the threads are held together at 50 by a slightdegree of adhesion only and will separate as indicated by the gap 5| inFig. 8 when the threads straighten out between the hook 40 and theremover R. The remover is therefore enabled to attract into itself thethread T, and the thread T is released so that it can respond to thepneumatic force exerted by the holder H.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 9-l4'the parts aresimilar to those already described except for the means which controlsthe thread T. Instead of stationary hook 40 there is employed a laycarried hook indicated at 60. This hook has a forwardly facing notch Blat the upper end of a relatively long. downwardly and forwardly inclinedguide surface or edge 62 on book 60.. The latter is held by a smallbracket 63 on the front of the lay and is adjustable vertically on thebracket by means of bolts 6.4 so that notch 6| can be raised andlowered.

If desired a stationary hook and thread pusher ofknown construction andsimilar to that described in' connection with the preferred form of theinvention may. be employed in their usual locations. a thread pusher 65on the lay can be utilized to cast thread T over a stationary hook Asshown in Fig. 9 the hook 66 is to the right of the remover R and ofitself is not correctly located for the purposes of the presentinvention. By. its use, however, the thread hook on the lay need notextend as far forwardly as would be desirable. if the stationary hook6.5 were not; used.

After thread If has been engaged by hook 66 it will extend from thelatter to the cloth selvage across the path of the movable hook B0, andas the lay advances the latter hook will move thread T to the positionshown in Fig. ll. This movement willplace thread T under some tension,but the yarn I in collector 39' permits some yielding of thread 'I?without however releasing it.

As the lay recedes and the movable hook so assumes the position shown inFig. 12 there may be some slackness of the left end ofthread "1;" asindicated for instance. at a. This slackness however will notpermit thethread to fall below accrues the bottom of guide edge or surface 62, andwhen the lay again beats up the thread T will enter the notch BI andbecome taut as indicated in Fig.

11. When the threads T and T are eventually cut from the cloth'by thecutter [3 when the lay is at front center the remover R will shortlythereafter pneumatically attract the threads un:-

'til they straighten out between notch 6| and the remover R. Thisstraightening will occur ordinarily before the matted parts 58 are ableto 'reach the remover R, and the two threads will separate as indicatedat in a manner similar which thread T extends when leading from thecloth selvage is closer to the thread cutter .l3 than to the remover R.This, however is not an essential relationship for all conditions underwhich the invention may be used, since it will be sufficient if thehooks are so located that the remover R will not be able to exertsufficient tractive force on thread T to overpower the pneumatictraction of the holder Thus, it would be sufficient if the hooks 4|) and60 were equally distant from the selvage cutter and the remover, sincethis would prevent thread T from entering the remover. These hooks mayunder some conditions actually be slightly closer to the remover .thanto the selvage cutter, provided the parts are so placed as to preventany considerable amount of thread T from entering the remover. Thepneumatic pressure within the remover can e relied upon ordinarily toseparate the matted ends of the threads and it will answer the purposesof the invention if the hooks of either the preferred or the modifiedform are so located that the remover will never be able to exert apneumatic force on thread T equal to or greater than the force exertedby the holder H. The stationary hook 86 can if desired be used with thepreferred form of the invention, in which event hook 40 need not be asfar forward on the lay as indicated in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing it will be seen that means are provided to preventthe remover R from attaining control over thread '1". This result can beaccomplished by having the hooks 40 and 60 nearer to the selvage cutterthan to the remover R. As already stated, however, entry of thread Tinto the remover tube 25 for a short distance will not necessarilydefeat the purpose of the invention if the rem-over under theseconditions is not able to exert sufficient pull on thread T to oiTsetthe pull of holder H. The holder H limits movement of the thread Ttoward the cloth and thus cooperates with the hooks 4i] and 60 toprevent thread T from coming under control of remover R. Each of thehooks 40 and 60 has a part which is between the threads T and T, andthis part is preferably bent toward the cloth to prevent thread T fromslipping off the hook when moving toward the remover. The yarn Y permitsa limited yielding of thread T without however releasing it. Whileholder H pneumatically attracts thread T it is found for reasons alreadymentioned that the remover R is quicker in its operation than is theholder H and therefore exerts the principal force determining thedirection of travel of the matted parts of the threads after selvagecutting. Furtherremover.

more, the hook which cooperates with the remover and'holder may beeither stationary or on the lay. Having thus described my invention itwill berseen that changes and modifications may. be made therein bythose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details hereindisclosed, butwhat I claim is: V

1. In a weft replenishing loom, a pneumatic thread remover, a selvagecutter, a thread hook nearer to the selvage cutter than to the remover,the loom having a thread entering the remover and matted at one endthereof to one. endof a second thread as the result of operation oftheselvage cutter, said second thread being engaged with said thread hook,and holding means for the second thread cooperating with said threadhook limiting movement Of said end' of the sec.-

'ond thread toward the remover, the 'latter'pneumati'cally attractingthe threads and said matted ends and cooperating with said thread hookand holding means to effect separation of the matted thread ends beforethe latter reach the 2. In a weft replenishing loom having a selvagecutter, a pneumatic thread remover, a thread hook nearer to the cutterthan to the remover, the loom having two threads one of which enters theremover and the other of which engages the thread hook, adjacent ends ofsaid threads being matted together subsequent to cutting ofv saidthreads from the selvage by the selvage cutter, and means preventingmovement of said other thread along said thread hook in a directiontoward said remover, the remover pneumatically attracting said onethread and said matted ends and cooperating with the thread hook andmeans to effect separation of the matted thread'ends before the latterreach the remover.

3. In a weft replenishing loom, a thread re mover, the loom having twothreads attached to the cloth selvage one of which enters the removerand the other of which is held against movement toward the selvage, aselvage cutter cutting said threads from the selvage in such manner thatthey cling together, said remover thereupon moving toward itself both ofsaid threads, hook means for the other thread, placer means moving saidother thread into engagement with said hook means, the distance betweenthe hook means and selvage cutter being less than the distance betweenthe hook means :and remover, said hook means preventing said otherthread from reaching the remover and cooperating with the latter toseparate said threads.

4. In a weft replenishing loom operating with a lay and having twothreads extending from the cloth selvage, a pneumatic thread removerinto which one of said threads extends, a pneumatic thread holder intowhich the other thread extends, a selvage cutter, a thread hook nearerto the selvage cutter than to the thread remover, and means on the laymoving said other thread into engagement with said thread hook, saidselvage cutter thereafter cutting said threads from the selvage in suchmanner that parts of said threads are matted together, said remover andholder thereafter pneumatically attracting said threads and matted partsthereof and said thread hook cooperating with said holder to preventsaid matted parts of said threads from reaching the remover.

5. In a weft replenishing loom operating with a lay, a pneumatic threadremover, a pneumatic assume ing from the cloth selvage into the removerand having a second thread extending from. the selvage into the holder,a selvage thread cutter, a stationary thread hook, the distance betweensaid hook and selvage cutter being less than the distance between saidhook and the remover, placing means on the lay moving the secondthreadinto engagement with. the thread hook,

said selvage cutter thereafter severing said threads from the clothselvage in such manner that parts of said threads. are matted together,

whereupon the remover pneumatically attracts saidonethreadaand said:matted thread partsand the thread hook and holder cooperate to preventsaid matted; thread parts from reachingsaidremover and cooperate with,the latter to separate said matted parts. 6; In a weft replenishingloom, having two threads parts of which are matted together subsequenttocutting at a point near the cloth selvage, a thread engaging hook, twothread removingmeans, one threadibeing-spacedfrom said hook and leadingfrom the point of cutting directly to one of said removing means and theother thread leading from the point of cutting to the other means andengaging said hook, each removing means tending to move the associatedthread toward itself, and the hook beingnearer to said point of cuttingthan to either of. said removing means and effective-subsequent, to saidcutting to prevent the matted parts from reach ing either removingmeans.

7. In a weft replenishing loom having two threads parts of which arematted together sub;-

sequent to cutting at a position near the cloth selvage, two threadremoving means at different distances from said positiomone for eachthread,

81 each removings means tending'to move said matted parts toward itself,and retaining, means engaging one of said threads at a point nearer tosaid position than. to either removing means and cooperating with bothof said removing means to prevehtsaid matted parts from reaching eitherremoving means.

8. Ina weft replenishing loom, two pneumatic thread attracting means,the loom having two threads one of which leads from the cloth 'selva'geto one or said attracting means and the other of which leads from thecloth selvage. to the other attracting means, each attracting meanstending to draw the corresponding thread the'reinto, means-cutting thethreads at the selvage in such manner that parts of the threads arematted together, and a thread hook engaging one of said threads at apoint nearer to the selvage than to either attracting means andcooperating with the attracting means to prevent said matted parts fromreaching either attracting means.

WALTER H. WAKEF'IELDi REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

